--Septiplier One Shots--

Dark Words

(Okay, first off, thank you all for 4k reads! I didn't want to do this thank you as a separate part because I think it would've annoyed some of you who were hoping for a proper update, so I did it here instead. Anyways, again, I'm so happy that this book has come far enough for me to be thanking you all for so many reads and votes, it's insane to think about how many people that is! You're all amazing, stay awesome :D)

Something had been off about Mark recently and Jack had noticed. He, so far, was the only one to pick up on this, and Mark himself was honestly thankful. He didn't want so many people to worry about him and stress over him, he wanted them to get on with their lives and worry about more important things instead. He had been acting different lately, getting more and more headaches, less sleep, and feelings sick over all. Jack suggested seeing a doctor about this, but of course Mark refused. He didn't see it as much of a big deal until Friday.

He woke up with a ringing in his ears, pounding headache and queasy stomach. He expected it to ease during the day but it just got worse for some reason. It had been becoming increasingly worse since it started but not this rapidly, this worried him. He called up Jack at about 11:30 at night, knowing that he wouldn't be awake but it was morning in Ireland anyway, so he thought he should wake him up early just to annoy him.

"Mark, why'd you wake me up at er... 7:30 in the morning?" Jack's accent seemed to be thicker in the mornings, Mark silently praising himself for waking him up early just because he got to hear it. He always did love his friend's Irish accent.

"I'm worried, Jack. I don't know what's wrong with me." He felt like he was going to cry, cringing from the immense pain in the side of his head. He rested his head in his hands and groaned loudly, rubbing his eyes and looking up at Jack again, who was now sat up in bed (he had answered Skype on his phone) and looking at him with concerned eyes.

"You really should go to the hospital or something, Mark, it's been getting worse." The Irishman mumbled as he ran a hand through his hair, hoping to make it look at least half-decent. Mark noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt and tried to ignore it, keeping his eyes on Jack's hard-to-miss hair in an attempt.

He sighed deeply, looking off to the side before nodding at his friend's suggestion. He really didn't want to, but he knew that the doctors might be able to help him. Plus, he didn't want Jack to worry about him so much, so maybe if he got some medication and started to feel better, the constant concern in Jack's voice would disappear.

"Good, now you should get some sleep if you're feeling like shite, you don't want to feel even worse do you?" The no longer shirtless man said, smiling a little and chuckling afterwards. Mark couldn't help but smile back at this, a grin forcing it's way onto his face.

"Alright, Jack. You win. I'll go to bed at a decent hour, I guess. Don't be getting yourself into too much trouble, Jackaboy. Good night, or morning I suppose." He continued to smile, waving back after Jack did and hanging up. He felt a little emptier after he ended the call, missing Jack's virtual presence.

He shook off the feeling and stood up, turning his computer off and heading to his bedroom. He groaned as he collapsed on the bed, sighing and hugging his pillow while drifting in and out of sleep for a while before falling into a deep slumber.

- - - - - - - - - -

Jack was interrupted halfway through his recording of Firewatch by the sound of his Skype going off. It was Mark, of course. Why is he awake? Jack thought to himself as he pulled a confused expression, Isn't it about 3:30 in the morning for him? His mind continued as he clicked 'Accept'.

He was slightly taken back by Mark's appearance once his image showed up on screen, jaw falling open in shock and slight fear. Mark didn't look anything like the happy self he normally was, well, before these headaches started. He looked a pale grey, with pitch black hair and he seemed more... Sinister than normal. He had some sort of sick grin on his face, staring at him with these cherry red eyes over his metal-framed glasses.

"Hello, Jacky~" This... creature hissed with the same grin, sending shivers down Jack's spine. Whatever had happened to Mark, it wasn't good. 'Mark' noticed Jack's unnatural silence and tilted his head, the wide smile slowly fading into a smirk, "What's wrong, deary~? Cat got your tongue?"

"I... Uh..." The green haired boy stuttered, shaking slightly at his 'friend's unusually deep voice. "Wh-what happened to Mark, what did you do to him?" He suddenly spat, forgetting his camera was on. He glared at the man in front of him and wondered where his burst of confidence came from and how he managed to shout when he was stuttering like an idiot a minute ago.

"I didn't do anything, my dear, I just merely trapped him inside his own mind while I got a feel of the real world." He smirked wider, eyes narrowed and head still titled ever so slightly.

"Bring him back-" Jack stopped when he saw the man disappear. He was still in the call, but it looked like he had just teleported out the room and gone elsewhere. This scared the man a little, so he looked away from his screen and scanned the room to see if he was possibly there. When he saw nothing, he turned back to his screen and ended the call immediately, too terrified to see if he came back.

"That's a little rude, hanging up on me like that~" The same voice from the call chuckled darkly, causing Jack to spin his chair around. He looked up and saw 'Mark' standing there, that grin on his face again. He sure did look evil, but who was he?

"Who are you?" The Irishman managed, cringing as his voice broke. He sounded weak, like he was shitting himself with fear (which if he needed the toilet, he probably would be) just because what he hoped was his friend was in his house. He wasn't his friend at the moment, he was someone he knew was his friend on the inside, but refused the idea on the outside.

"Oh, yes I forgot. I'm Dark, you've probably heard of me." Dark smirked, turning and walking around Jack's room as he spoke, "I couldn't help but try and force my way out of Mark's body, I'd been trapped inside for too long. Anyway, you seem nice, Mark talks to you a lot, I've seen. He tends to think about you quite often too."

Jack stiffened at Dark's words, a blush creeping up onto his cheeks. He thinks about me often? He shook his head, looking at Mark's counterpart and raising an eyebrow like he wasn't flustered by one sentence. "He thinks about me?"

"Of course he does, my dear, people think about their desired love, don't they? ... I don't think I was supposed to tell you that, but too late now I guess." He chuckled deeply once again, glancing up to see the blue eyed boy as red as a tomato. He slowly walked over to him, tilting his head with a smirk like he usually does and stood in front of Jack, leaning down a little so their faces were level, "Hm, I wonder what Mark loves about you so much. Your humour? Probably. Your voice? A little annoying if I do say so myself. Your eyes? I could see why he would, but I guess I won't truly know for myself."

"Uh... Y-you... What?" The smaller male stammered, looking directly into Dark's ruby eyes. He couldn't help but feel his body heat up at how close he was. He knew it wasn't Mark, but he could feel his presence in a way. "He doesn't love me, y-you're lying."

Dark shook his head with an almost silent laugh, putting his hands on Jack's lap and pushing his face forward, connecting his lips with Jack's. He felt Jack flinch slightly but soon melt into the kiss and return the action.

It all felt a little weird to Jack, kissing his best friend that isn't currently his actual best friend, but he still enjoyed it. He felt a little disappointed when Dark pulled away, opening his eyes expecting to see red ones looking back at him only to see brown ones instead.

Mark smiled, chuckled, then laughed. He hadn't felt this happy since the day he first met Jack in person. "He wasn't lying, you goofball."

"This is... Different." Jack let out the breathless chuckle, smiling slightly at Mark, whose face was still inches away from his own. "The only problem is, you're in Ireland with nothing but me." He couldn't help but grin at his own statement, holding one of Mark's hands in his.

"Oh well, you're all I need. Plus, if you're wondering. I loved you for you, that's all." The American smiled, pecking Jack's lips softly.